Refrigerator.



G. G. BOHN. REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1908.

Patented Mar. 1,19%.

cnnnn c. Bonn, or sit. rant, Minnesota.

REFRIGERATOR.

specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 29, 1908. aerial Ito. 445,980.

. others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to refrigerators, and particularly torefrigerators of that type which have an outer sheathing or casing ofenameled sheet metal arranged over a body portion of heat insulatingmaterial.,

One object of my present invention is to provide a refrigerator of thety e referred to in which the enameled sheets 0 metal that form theouter sheathing are retained in position by devices that impart a neatand ornamental appearance to the refrigerator and also securely holdsaid sheets in position without the necessity of drilling holes in theouter sheathing, thereby overcoming the liability of cracking the enamelon the outer sheathing.

Another object of my inventionis to pro vide a refrigerator having aninner lining composed of enameled sheets of metal that have their edgeportions locked together after the sheets have been enameled, theinsulated body portion of the refrigerator being provided with groovesfor receiving the interlocking portions of said sheets. And stillanother object of my invention is to provide a refrigerator in which theshelf brackets are of novel construction-and are retained in position ina novel manner.

Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafterpointed out.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a perspective view of a refrigeratorconstructed in ac cordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view taken on approximately the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 1sa vertical sectional view taken on approximately the line, 3--3 of Fig.1; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the construction of oneof the shelf-supporting brackets.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of myinvention, 1 designates sheets of metal that form the outer casing orsheathing for the body portion 2 of the refrigerator which is formed ofheat insulating material, the outer surfaces of said sheets beingcovered with vitreous enamel. The side, top, front and rear walls of theinsulated body portion 2 are covered by separate sheets 1 that conformto the outline of said walls and terminate adjacent the edges of. same,said sheets being clamped in position by means of metal moldings 3 whichbear firmly on said sheets but have no direct connection with same.These moldings 3 are connected to the body ortion 2 of the refrigeratorby means of astening devices 3, preferably oval-headed screws, and themoldings 3 are countersunk to receive the heads of said screws. T preferto use moldings 3 of semi-tubular-sl1ape in cross section so that eachmolding will clamp two of the sheathing plates 1 in position, and alsocover the sharp edge or corner of the body portion 2 over which it isarranged. Corner moldings 3 are arranged at the four corners of therefrigerator and also at the four corners of the base hereinafter described, said corner moldings being so contecting member that covers allof the edges or corners of the refrigerator. These corner moldings 3 arepreferably formed of cast metal, and each one is provided with avertical leg that embraces one of the vertical edges of the body portion2 of the refrigerator, and two horizontally disposed legs arranged atapproximately right angles to each other so as to embrace two of thehorizontal edges of the body portion 2. v A base 2 that is connected tothe body portion 2, is covered by enameled sheets of metal 1 that areclamped in position by means of moldings 3 arranged over the upper edgesof said base so as to protect same and also clamp the sheets 1 inposition. Grooves are preferab'ly formed in the base 2 for receiving thelower edges of the sheets 1, this feature of my invention being clearlyillustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

-One very desirable feature of a refrigerator of the construction abovedescribed is that no fastening devices pass through the sheathing latesso that there is not as great liability of the enameling cracking asthere is in. a construction in which the sheets are retained in positionby means of fasten ng devices which pass through openings in the sheetand bear directly on the enamel thereon. Another advantage inconstructing a refrigerator in the manner above described is that I donot have to fit the sheets accurately tothe walls over which they extendPatented ltfar. T, lldftlt.

because the moldings 3 and corner moldings 3 cover the edges of theplates and hide them from view. Another Very desirable feature of myimproved construction is that any of the outside sheathing plates can beI removed easily by taking ofi the molding ance to the refrigerator, andas they are of semi-tubular shape in cross section the refrigerator isfree from sharp corners or edges.

The food compartment of the refrigerator or the inner liningof theinsulated body portion. 2 is made up of enameled sheets of metal thathave their edge portions locked together after the enamel has been bakedon said sheets. Prior to my invention the food compartments ofrefrigerators were formed from sheets of metal that were brazed togetherso as to produce a rectangular-shaped boX which was thereafter enameled.One serious objection to a construction that is first brazed and thenenameled is that defects in the sheet do not appear until after theenameling operation so that it is very often necessary to discard thewhole box if one of the sheetstherein proves to be de fective. Moreover,this method of constructing inner linings makes it imm'acticable toconstruct" large inner linings of boxes for they cannot be enameledconveniently.

In my improved construction the sheets of metal that form the innerlining of the food compartment are first enameled, and their edgeportions are thereafter connected together, preferably by locked seamsor joints, as shown in Fig. 2. By building theinner lining in thismanner I am able to match up the sheets after they have been enameledand discard any imperfect sheets, and I am also able to produce a largeinner lining at a lowcost because it is a very simple matter to enamelthe individual flat sheets before they have been connected together. Theedge portions of the sheets 4 can be locked together in numerous ways,such, for example, as providing one sheet with a channel-shaped portion45* that embraces the edge portion of an adjacent sheet. After the innerlining sheets 4 have been connected together by inserting the edge :ofone sheet into a channel-shaped flange on an adjacent sheet,- saidflanges are embedded in grooves formed in the insulating material 2 ofthe refrigerator and set in odorless rock cement. A one-piece lining isthus produced that is superior to the brazed linings heretofore in use,and as the joints between the various pieces of lining are set in cementsaid joints are both water-proof and acid-proof.

' The shelf brackets of the refrigerator each consist of a flat strip ofmetal that is doubled and then bent laterally to form an approximatelyT-shapcd device 5 whose shank projects horizontally through a slot inthe inner lining sheets 4: of the food compartment and Whose head isinterposed between said inner lining sheets and the body portion 2 ofthe refrigerator, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 4:, the heads of saidT-shaped devices being preferably connected to the inner lining sheets 4by means of rivets 5". A shelf bracket of this construction can beproduced at a low cost, it is neat and takes up very little space, andis a decided improvement on the shelf brackets heretofore in use whichusually consisted of cast members that were retained in position byfastening devices that passed through holes in the inner lining.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A refrigerator having a rectangularshaped body portion, metalmoldings secured to the corners of said body portion, and an outercovering or sheathing for said body portion consisting of separateenameled metal sheets, each' of which is slidingly mounted between twoof the corner moldings on the body portion.

2. A refrigerator having'a body portion provided with a plurality ofmoldings arranged parallel to each other, enameled sheets of metalslidingly mounted between said moldings and cooperating with same toform an outer sheathing for said body portion, and separate moldingsdetachably con nected to said body portion for covering the other edgesof said sheets.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses, this 22nd day of July- 1908.

GEBHARD O. BOHN.

